Article excerpt

Ask Helena Ruoti how she sees Cleopatra and a cornucopia of
adjectives tumble forth -- vivacious, intelligent, educated and
cunning.

"She was a Mata Hari type and that's what made her so exciting,"
says Ruoti, who will play Cleopatra in Pittsburgh Irish & Classical
Theatre's season opening production of "Antony & Cleopatra." "She
spoke nine languages. She guerillaed her way onto the Actium
battlefield. She was so wealthy, so resourceful and (someone) who
could speak (directly) to the kings, they wanted to fight on their
side."

Set in ancient Rome and Egypt circa 43 B.C. to 30 B.C.,
Shakespeare's tragedy combines the intrigue of international and
interpersonal politics with the sizzle of a passionate romance
between two world leaders -- the Roman warrior and statesman Marc
Antony and Cleopatra, Egypt's final Pharaoh.

For two millennia both Cleopatra and her liaisons -- first with
Julius Caesar and later with Antony -- have occupied the
imaginations and work of writers and performers. Though Caesar is
dead when "Antony & Cleopatra" begins, he still casts a shadow on
the drama.

"What makes them so interesting is that every one of them has
their own history," Ruoti says. "And (Cleopatra and Anthony) are so
linked. They're like Brangelina. Just imagine: these two people were
emperor and empress of half of the known world at this point."

Early historians often reviled her and blamed her for Antony's
downfall. Playwrights, filmmakers and actresses have portrayed her
as a childlike minx, a shameless temptress, a ruthless depot.

"As one of Shakespeare's women, she is a beautiful blend of
regality and beggary," Ruoti says. "She's as smart as Rosalind and
as smart and sensual as Juliet -- only grown up."

"She keeps her entourage off balance because it's difficult to
know when she's playing and when she's in earnest. She lives in the
moment," Ruoti says. "Her mutability -- that's what makes her
funny."

Actresses who include Elizabeth Taylor, Vivian Leigh, Glenda
Jackson, Claudette Colbert, Vanessa Redgrave and Dame Judi Dench
have risen to the challenge of playing this mythic character.

"It's daunting when you think of it," Ruoti says. "One of the
things I've discovered is how active this play is. It's one-to-one.
She's manipulating, pushing (Antony's) buttons to get a rise out of
people. ... Do is the active word. She's always doing something."

Though Cleopatra was 39 when she died, the character is now most
often played by a mature actress, says Ruoti who points out that
Dench was 53 when she played Cleopatra to Anthony Hopkins' Antony.

"It was written for mature actors ... looking for their legacy,"
she says. "This about a mature love. They have been with each other
for over 11 years. They finish each other's sentences. ... They are
two people on the other side of a partnership together. For that
reason, it is usually done by actors on that side of their lives."

Famous film Cleopatras

Elizabeth Taylor in "Cleopatra" (1963)

Vivien Leigh in "Caesar and Cleopatra (1945)

Claudette Colbert in "Cleopatra" (1934)

Theda Bara in "Cleopatra" (1917)

Angelina Jolie is expected to portray Egypt's last queen in a
movie schedule for release in 2013, based on Stacy Schiff's
biography, "Cleopatra: A Life."

Writers and historians on Cleopatra

George Bernard Shaw on Cleopatra in notes for his play "Caesar
and Cleopatra": "The childishness I have ascribed to her, as far as
it is childishness of character and not experience, is not a matter
of years. ... It is a mistake to suppose that the difference between
wisdom and folly has anything to do with the difference between
physical age and physical youth. …

The Rise of Caesarism: The Weakened Roman Republic Was Crushed by JuliusCaesar, a Charismatic Military Leader Who Exploited His Popularity with a Roman People Who Desired Security above All ElseBonta, Steve.
The New American, Vol. 21, No. 1, January 10, 2005